Kiss Good Night
by nothingtolose18
Summary: Oneshot. Lilly and Jackson are dating ... not that anyone else knows that, of course. Jackson wants to stop sneaking around, but one thing is holding Lilly back - Miley. This is a snapshot of their life in one particular moment in time.


**A/N: I'm not sure where this came from. It was scribbled down quite randomly in one setting, although the idea had been bumping around my brain for the past few days. Hannah Montana does not belong to me, obviously.**

Lilly blinked slowly, yawning. She wondered why she had been sleeping on a couch, before the events of the night came back to her. She had been watching a movie with Jackson, and the last thing she remembered was her eyes drifting shut.

"It's about time you woke up, Sleeping Beauty," Jackson griped, but he was smiling. "You missed the rest of the movie!"

"Did I?" Lilly asked, yawning and stretching her arms above her head. She watched the television screen through bleary eyes, as the credits rolled by. "Oops. I'm sorry."

"S'okay," Jackson said with a shrug, turning off the DVD player and television without removing the DVD first. "We've seen it before, anyway."

They had. But that wasn't what she had been apologizing for. "No, I mean... I'm sorry for falling asleep on you," she confessed sheepishly. "I hate wasting the little time that we have together. How long was I out for?"

"Only a half hour or so," Jackson said, sinking next to her on the couch. "We still have about an hour."

"An hour..." Lilly breathed, kissing him on the cheek. "Not long enough..."

"No," Jackson agreed with a shake of his head, wishing that he could rewind time for a couple of hours.

"I had a hell of a time getting out of going to the Hannah Montana concert tonight," Lilly said with a sly smile. "It's a good thing I've perfected my sick voice. Miley seemed a little suspicious, but..." she trailed off, shrugging. "Oh well. Lola had to sit this one out."

"You think Miley didn't believe _you?_" Jackson said with a laugh. "Try convincing my sister that I had a _date. _Pulling teeth would be easier."

"I can see why she would have her doubts. Who would date _you?_" Lilly teased, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Sometimes, surprisingly hot chicks like me," Jackson chuckled, pulling her close to him. He loved the feel of her next to him, warm and comforting and ... there. They didn't often get to do this. It was hard for Jackson to have to see her at the house all the time with Miley, having to pretend like he saw her as nothing more than his little sister's best friend. It was hard, because all he wanted to do was rush to her and take her in his arms. Nothing had ever felt so great as moments like these.

They stayed like this for several minutes, each enjoying the closeness. "I don't want to leave," Lilly confessed, feeling as though she might cry. It was so stupid of her, really; she knew that she would probably see him the next day. But it was always so hard to leave Jackson because she knew that the next time she saw him, Miley would be there. They couldn't speak to each other, at least not how they wanted, and they certainly couldn't do _this. _Lilly tightened her grip on him.

"Don't," Jackson stated simply. It wasn't the first time he'd made such a bold suggestion, but every time Lilly balked at the idea.

"Jackson..." Lilly said warily. "I can't just stay here. I'm sure your dad would _love _that."

"I didn't mean in my room," Jackson said hastily. "I mean, unless you wanted to," he added cheekily. Lilly blushed. They hadn't had sex; Jackson definitely would not mind, but she was younger than him, and hadn't spoken about it to him. Jackson had no intentions of pressing her on the issue. He didn't want to rush her into anything. "I just meant ... you could stay on the couch or something?" he suggested.

"And what are we going to say to your dad and Miley?" Lilly demanded. "Sorry, Miley, I was home sick and couldn't go to your concert, but I decided to show up at your house randomly anyway and sleep on your couch."

Jackson rolled his eyes. "I dunno, Lill. I mean... we could always tell them."

Lilly shook her head, eyes wide. "Jackson, we _can't_! I told you before! What about Miley?"

"Dammit!" Jackson cursed, smacking his hand on the coffee table so fiercely that it caused Lilly to jump. "Why does _everything _revolve around Miley?"

"She is my _best friend__,_" Lilly hissed shortly, crossing her arms. "You _know_ that."

"I know," Jackson snapped. "And she's my sister. What's your point?"

"My _point _is that I don't want her to think that I'm just, like, coming over to see you. It would change everything. I don't want to make it weird, Jackson. I don't want to risk our friendship!"

"Do you really think that Miley would hate the thought of us together _so much_?" Jackson demanded. He didn't always get along with his younger sister, but he didn't think that she would completely hate the idea of him being happy. That would just be cruel. Then again, Miley was accustomed to getting everything that she wanted in life. But would she really want to hurt them both _that much? _Jackson didn't think so.

"Jackson, i don't know..." Lilly said, trailing off. "I just don't want to weird her out! She's my very best friend in the whole world, and I don't want to lose her."

"But you don't mind losing me?" Jackson questioned hotly. "Don't you care what happens to us?" Jackson sounded whiny, even to his own ears, and he didn't like it. But honestly, he was sick of Miley getting her way in every aspect of...well...pretty much everything. It wasn't that he hated his sister; he loved her, but sometimes he couldn't help but resent her, too. Jackson just wanted someone to take him into consideration first, for once. _I just want to be enough for someone for once. _"Because honestly, Lilly, I don't know how far this relationship can go if we have to keep it hidden from my sister and your best friend." He didn't want to break up with Lilly one bit, but he knew that that would be the inevitable end to their relationship if they couldn't agree on this one thing.

"Of course I do," Lilly protested, wide-eyed. She grabbed his wrist and held it tightly. "That's the last thing I want. I just... can't choose between the both of you. I just can't."

"I wouldn't expect you to," he said softly, feeling his anger cool off despite himself. He had always been a sucker for a pretty girl. "I wouldn't ask that of you." What he didn't voice was that right now, he felt like she was choosing Miley over him. Just like everyone else.

"I know," Lilly said, squeezing his hand and glancing down. "That's why I...I love you, Jackson," she whispered. "I really do, and I don't want to lose you, but I don't want to lose Miley, either, and I'm just, I don't know what to-" Her voice was becoming more and more high-pitched, and she sounded so close to the verge of tears that all Jackson wanted to do was make it okay.

"Shh, it's okay," Jackson comforted, reeling from her confession of love. They had never used that word to each other before. Jackson's heart was pounding wildly in his chest. "It's okay," he promised, pulling her close and stroking the wisps of hair that were curling around her face. "I love you too," he murmured, clearing his throat.

Lilly opened her mouth to say something, when a noise from the driveway startled them both. Robbie Ray and Miley had arrived home early from the concert.

"I have to leave," Lilly said urgently, extricating herself from Jackson's arms and standing up. "I have to go," she repeated, leaning down and kissing him deeply, running her hands through his hair. "Good night, Jackson."

"Good night, Lilly," Jackson said breathlessly, watching helplessly as she dashed through the back door, mere seconds before the front one swung open.


End file.
